Organizational skills build meeting halls, fill them up

"And this good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations."

--Matthew 24:14

By Ray Miller

Sun Staff

If you'd like to see the building of a house of worship practiced as an art form, you should see the Jehovah's Witnesses in action.

What takes most other denominations years to accomplish they do in days. The Kingdom Hall at 12400 Central Valley Road is a case in point.

In 1992, the congregation, then numbering about 70 people, was meeting in the Poulsbo Kingdom Hall and was growing sufficiently fast that the guiding board of elders decided it was time for the congregation to have its own Kingdom Hall.

At that point, according to elders Jim Harding and Dave Young, the worldwide denomination's carefully perfected system went into action.

"When an area wants to build," explained Young, "the elders form a building committee of three members to oversee the process. They, in turn, contact the Regional Building Committee of Elders, representing different congregations in the region."

In turn, if needed, the regional committee can call upon resources at the national level.

"As for finances, they can come from the local, regional and national levels," Harding said.

Ironically, there is no tithing or collection plate at Sunday services. Members contribute what they feel they can spare, placing the contributions in boxes in the Kingdom Hall. One box is earmarked for the building fund, to repay any loans from the regional or national levels.

Then, using a regional inventory of building and craft skills taken from among its members, construction teams are organized.

When the land and materials have been purchased, the actual raising of the Kingdom Hall begins. Teams of volunteers arrive according to an hour-by-hour schedule, ensuring that those with specific skills are available as needed.

The organizational work is impressive. Instead of taking weeks or months to build, the Kingdom Hall on Central Valley Road, which seats 203 people, was built in two weekends.

In the five years since then, the congregation has more than doubled, and the Kingdom Hall now is serving other congregations as well.

Other Kingdom Halls throughout the nation are built with the same dispatch.

So why the great emphasis on speed and efficiency in building a Kingdom Hall?

Young says that without the system, building could become a distraction from the congregation's true work, which is preaching the "good news" about God.

The entire worldwide structure of Jehovah's Witnesses, which now has 5.5 million members in 233 nations, is geared to that end.

The membership is organized as a theocracy, with governing boards of elders who oversee the church.

This has often created conflicts and misunderstandings. Some nonmembers, for example, believe the church sees itself as an autonomous government.

Both elders stress that members are taught to respect secular authority and to obey all laws that do not conflict with the law of God. They insist, however, that obedience to God's law comes first.

Eventually, they believe, God's Kingdom under Christ will replace all human governments and will become the one government over all humankind.

There are no paid clerics or ministers. The congregation is guided by a board of elders, all males, who oversee the work of the congregation. People are not baptized into the faith until adequate knowledge of the Bible and Jehovah's Witnesses principles are demonstrated. After that, the person becomes, in effect, a minister.

The members preach door-to-door, again in a very systematic, organized manner.

While many people profess to resent calls at their homes by members of Jehovah's Witnesses, the method seems to be effective. Worldwide, nearly 1,000 people a day are becoming Jehovah's Witnesses.

The strong growth is being experienced in Kitsap County, too, where there now are seven Kingdom Halls with each serving up to four congregations.

"There are many misconceptions about us," Harding said. "For example, they say we don't believe in Jesus Christ. That is absolutely not true. He is the reigning King in Heaven."

Young agreed.

"If people have questions, please encourage them to talk with a member, or drop by a Kingdom Hall," he said.

Staff photo by Larry Steagall

LEADER: David Young is one of seven elders at the Jehovah's Witnesses Kingdom Hall on Central Valley Road in Silverdale. There are no paid ministers.

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